On November 4, the 2023 China Water Academic Congress was opened at North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power (NCWU) in Zhengzhou, China. Prof. Philippe Gourbesville, President of IAHR, delivered a plenary speech entitled “Hydroinformatics and Systematic Water Management”, and renewed the memorandum of understanding between IAHR and Chinese Hydraulic Engineering Society (CHES), laying a solid foundation for the cooperation in the next five years.

⇡ IAHR President Philippe Gourbesville giving a plenary report | Source: CHES

⇡ IAHR and CHES renewing their MoU | Source: NCWU

The conference was hosted by CHES and organized by NCWU, with the theme of “Strengthening Scientific and Technological Innovation and Supporting the Construction of National Water Grid”. Zhu Chengqing, Vice Minister of Water Resources, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech, and Zhou Xuewen, CHES President, presided over the opening ceremony.

Also present at the congress were Li Zhuo, Vice Governor of Henan Provincial People’s Government, Wang Dubo, Secretary of the Party Committee of NCWU, Zu Leiming, Director of the Yellow River Water Conservancy Commission, Wu Wenqing, Chief Planner of the Ministry of Water Resources, Guo Shenglian, Former Vice Governor of Hubei Province and Former Chairman of the Provincial Association for Science and Technology, Abdul Ghani Razaqpur, Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, Zhang Jianyun, Honorary President of Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute (NHRI) and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), Wang Chao, CAE Academician, Hu Chunhong, CHES Vice President and CAE Academician, Niu Xinqiang, Former Chairman of the Yangtze River Design Group Co., Ltd. and CAE Academician, Tang Hongwu, CHES Vice President and Secretary of the Party Committee of Hohai University and CAE Academician, Hu Ya’an, NHRI Chief Engineer and CAE Academician, Chen Shengshui, CHES Vice President and NHRI Past President, Zhou Haiyan, CHES Vice President and Deputy Director of the Yellow River Water Conservancy Commission, Tang Xinhua, CHES Vice President and Secretary-General, and Liu Wenkai, NCWU President.

After the opening ceremony, academicians, experts and scholars were invited to give plenary reports, including:

• Wu Wenqing: Accelerating the Construction of the National Water Grid and Building a Modern and High-Quality Water Infrastructure Network

• Zu Leiming: Measures, Practice and Prospects for Promoting the High-Quality Development of Water Conservancy in the Yellow River Basin in the New Era

• Zhang Jianyun: The Flood in July 2023 in the Haihe River Basin and Reflections

• Niu Xinqiang: Several Issues in the Construction of National and Regional Water Grid

• Hu Ya’an: Key Technologies for Flood Discharge and Energy Dissipation of Baihetan Hydropower Station

• Philippe Gourbesville: Hydroinformatics for Holistic Water Management

• Liu Junguo: Theory, Technology and Application of Ecological Restoration of Water-Scarce Rivers

• Li Jianshun: Focusing on Building a Modern Water Grid for Promoting Profits and Eliminating Harms and Comprehensively Improving Water Security Capabilities -- Ideas and Practices for the Construction of Modern Water Grid in Henan Province

• Shi Haifeng: Accelerating the Construction of South-to-North Water Diversion Project and Building the Main Framework and Artery of the National Water Grid

• Wang Jianhua: Basic Cognition of National Water Grid and Demand for Scientific and Technological Innovation

• Yao Shiming: The Influence Effect and Countermeasures of the Evolution of Rivers and Lakes in the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River

• Wang Yuanjian: Exploration of Efficient Sediment Transport Mechanism and Regulation Mode of Reservoir Group in the Yellow River Basin

Hu Chunhong, Tang Hongwu, Chen Shengshui, and Zhou Haiyan chaired the plenary talks.

On the afternoon of the opening day, CHES also released its list of top water-related scientific and technological problems for 2023, and the Blue Book of Water Park (2023).

⇡ CHES releasing the list of top water-related scientific and technological problems for 2023 | Source: NCWU

⇡ CHES releasing the Blue Book of Water Park (2023) | Source: NCWU

This academic congress has 1 plenary session, 19 sub-sessions (4 held in different places), more than 240 reports, and more than 960 papers, covering many disciplines such as water security in the hydrosphere and river basins, holistic governance and high-quality development of river basins, safe construction and operation of major water diversion projects, high-quality development of hydraulic structures, water ecology, smart water and digital twin, remote sensing, water conservation and intensive utilization, water policy, water in cold areas, inspection, testing and measurement, financial management, standardization in the digital era, cultural empowerment and integrated development of water parks, and global water security.

⇡ 2023 China Water Academic Congress | Source: NCWU